Following Hillary Clinton’s damage-control press conference yesterday, editorial boards across the country made it clear they are not buying her excuse that having one email was more “convenient.” Take a look:
Washington Post: “In the end, it is clear Ms. Clinton was acting in a gray zone, one created in part by the rapid pace of technological change. But it is also apparent that her decisions on her e-mail were based on what was best for her — what was ‘convenient’— and not so much for the public trust.”
Wall Street Journal: “The entire performance raised more questions than it answered, but if the 1990s pattern holds don’t expect any more explanations. The Clinton method is to settle on a defense and then hunker down unless some new information forces her hand. Maybe the emails will show up in a White House bedroom in 2018, like her Rose Law firm billing records once did. But until they do, the stonewall will be the strategy. Which ought to make Democrats nervous. They’ve convinced themselves that only Mrs. Clinton can save them from a Republican government in 2017. They might want to delete that assumption and think again.”
USA Today: “Clinton is in this position not only because she made a personal choice about how many devices to keep in her purse. She is in it also because she went against governmental policy and instructions — including a memo to State Department employees sent from her own office in 2011— that official e-mails be sent out only on government accounts. On Tuesday, Clinton repeatedly said ‘it would’ve been better’ if she had simply used a second e-mail account and carried a second phone. Yes, it would have. And if she now has to go the extra mile, that’s too bad. Mistakes have consequences.”
New York Daily News: “Delivered with firm panache, the logic was exquisitely Clintonian: Carrying two electronic devices, one for government business and one for personal matters, would have been a pain for a secretary of state, so combining both on single unit was simply a ‘convenience.’ The word will haunt anticipated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.”
The Des Moines Register: “Clinton gamely attempted to explain her actions, but her answers to reporters’ questions were as damaging as anything her political foes could have contrived. … In one sense, this is a minor issue, but it carries enormous implications. Clinton seems unable to admit she violated her own department’s policies. For a person who seems to harbor presidential aspirations, this spells trouble. Voters don’t expect candidates to be infallible, but they do expect them to acknowledge and learn from their mistakes.”
San Diego Union-Tribune: “Hillary Clinton had a press conference Tuesday at which she denied wrongdoing relating to her using a private email account and server while secretary of state. She said it was for convenience and that she had adequate security safeguards. However, her revelation that tens of thousands of emails that she called personal had been deleted is sure to generate new questions.”
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “She should have known better. And she should have talked to the American public a lot sooner. After eight years as first lady, four years as secretary of state, and months of preparation for another presumed White House bid, Hillary Clinton should have known some basic rules.”